Miniature toy string instrument



April 22, 1952 c s 2,593,990

MINIATURE TOY STRING INSTRUMENT Filed July 29, 1950 1111/ "Lllw INVENTOR. 74, 77 (AZ/r 7544 I A TTORNEY Patented Apr. 22, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim. (Cl. 84'-297) This invention relates to miniature toy string .1

instruments. It is an object of the invention to provide an instrument of the type referred to having novel structural features for holding strings to be vibrated and adapted to be readily manufactured in quantity production at a very low price range so as to make it available to a large segment of the purchasing public.

These and other advantageous objects, which will appear from the drawings and from the description hereinafter, are accomplished by the structure of my invention, of which embodiments are illustrated-in the drawings. It will be apparent, from a consideration of said drawings and the following description, that the invention may be embodied-in other forms suggested thereby, and such other forms as come within the scope of the appended claim are to be considered within the scope and purview of the instant invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a string instrument embodying the invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view thereof, taken on line 22 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view, taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary enlarged plan view, taken on line 5--5 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 6 is a vertical fragmentary sectional view, taken on line 6-5 of Fig. 5,

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on line of Fig. 5,

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of one end of another form of string instrument embodying the invention,

Fig. 9 is a side elevational view thereof, taken on line 9-9 of- Fig. 8,

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary plan view of another form of string instrument embodying the invention, and

Fig. 11 is a vertical sectional view taken on line l|ll of Fig. 10.

As shown in the drawings, the string instrument I of myinvention comprises a body member l0 having an elongated neck portion ll of less width than the body portion at one end defining therewith the outline of a string instrument. The instrument may be manufactured in the form shown in the drawings by the utilization of any conventional manufacturing process and materials and may be made of a plastic material including a top plate l3 which is generally instrument in miniature.

fiat, and a bottom shell I4 of three dimensions secured to the plate I 3 by gluing same thereto or otherwise securing the same to said plate and defining therewith the configuration of a string The plate and shell may be made of the same or contrasting colors. The body member [0 is provided with a string aligning bar I5 which is disposed transversely to the general longitudinal axis of the instrument and is provided (Fig. 6) with studs l6, l6, l1, i3, [8 extending upwardly of said plate in spaced relation, said studs being of frusto-conical outline and defining therebetween spaced wedgeshaped guide pockets to receive the strings [2, Ha, 12b, I20 of the instrument. The body memher is further provided with a lug I 9 spaced from and aligned with a pair of said studs and cooperating therewith to define means for holding the ends of said strings on the body member. The lug l9 (Fig. '7) is provided with an undercut face 20 remote from aligning bar 15 on which the end of the string may be anchored, and defining, with the surface 2| of body [0, an acute angle 22. A second lug l9 may be provided for a similar purpose, as shown in Fig. 1. The neck portion ll of the instrument is provided with a neck bar 25 disposed in generally transverse relation to the longitudinal axis of the instrument, said bar being preferably of the same general configuration as the bar [5 and serving the same purpose at the neck end of the instrument.

Lugs 29, 29' on the neck end of the instrument (Figs. 2 and 4) cooperate with neck bar 25 to hold the ends of the strings in a manner corresponding to that above described in connection with lugs l9, IQ of the body end of the instrument. The lugs I9, I9 and 29, 29' are aligned with the studs of the bars I5, 25 and may be disposed either immediately adjacent said bars as in Fig. 1, or remote therefrom as in Fig. 8. In the latter case, the neck bar 25' is provided, corresponding generally with bar 25 in Fig. 2, but the studs 39, 39 in Fig. 8 example are spaced substantially from bar 25' and, in fact, project beyond the free end 49 of the neck portion of the instrument. If desired, pins 4|, 4| may be provided adjacent said lugs inwardly of the free end of the neck portion of the instrument in the form shown in Fig. 8 to cooperate with said lugs and bar in the holding of the strings. The other end of the instrument may likewise be provided with lugs 49, 49' (Fig. 10) located remote from the bar 45 and overhanging the body end 42 of the instrument.

The structure above described, makes it posbe made of a relatively stretchable material of elastic characteristics which is initially of loop or ovate form substantially less length than in the attached form, shown in Fig. 1, and may be readily stretched to that form. In Fig. 1, two

such units are provided. It will be apparent that the number might be increased or decreased to suit the requirements of the particular instrument made pursuant to the invention. The invention is applicable to any form of string instrument which may be simulated by forming thebody member and neck portion in the outline required for simulation purposes.

The flexible unit which constitutes the strings I 2, Ha, may be an elastic band which is stretched to a length several times greater than normal and engaged over the members 29, 19 to hold the band in taut, highly stretched condition, so that it will have a high degree of vibration and resonance when struck or plucked. The same observation is applicable to the flexible unit which constitutes the strings l2b, I20.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A toy stringed instrument comprising a body,

the lugs.

a neck extending from said body, a bar integrally formed on said body and extending transversely thereof, a second bar integrally formed on and extending transversely of said neck, said bars being formed with string-receiving recesses spaced from each other longitudinally of the bars, lugs formed on said body and said neck and spaced from the outer sides of the bars, the lugs on the body and the neck being arranged between pairs of adjacent recesses, and pairs of strings extending longitudinally of the body and the neck, each pair of strings consisting of a rubber band stretched longitudinally and having its end portions passing through pairs of recesses in the bars, the ends of the stretched rubber bands be- J ing looped around the respective lugs on the body and the neck, said lugs having round ends remote from the respective bars, and bein undercut to retain the ends of the stretched rubber bands on ANTON T. CRISTEIL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 5 file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 351,406 Schwarzer Oct. 26, 1886 30 596,643 Weingard Jan. 4, 1898 915,293 Herrling Mar. 16, 1909 1,721,710 Pedersen July 23, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 35 49,788 Germany Nov. 26, 1889 

